My name is Nathan Benstead, I am an 18 year old wildlife and nature photographer based in Kent, England and I specialise in close up macro photography of insects and fungi. I have a dream to travel the world's natural habitats pursuing my macro and nature photography passion professionally!

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I was named Young Close Up Photographer Of The Year in 2022, The image that was awarded 1st place in the young category was of Hemitrichia calyculata Slime Mold. 2nd place was also one of my images! The details of a demoiselle's wing. I was also one of the finalists with my image of a Zebra Jumping spider dangling from a strand of web.

 

My passion for photography began when I got my first camera at the age of 12, however I have always been obsessed with the natural world.

 

In early 2020 I discovered an amazing macro photographer on Youtube and from that moment onwards I knew that I needed to get started with close up macro photography of the tiny creatures that have always fascinated me.

 

I eventually saved enough money for my first dedicated macro lens and started practicing more and more. Then In February 2021 I had the opportunity to enter a competition run by a nature charity, the three winners got to work as photographers in residence. I was lucky enough to be one of those winners! This was perfect for me and allowed me to save enough money to buy the professional level camera equipment that I use! 

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I spend my summers slowly searching through meadows and fields, I frequently start my days at 4am to go and search through the grasses and reeds at my local canal and lake, I love this time of day as it’s when wildlife is most active, and when humans are least active, so it's a very peaceful and great time to be out in nature with my camera. In winter however, I can usually be found in the woods, scanning the forest floor for fungi, slime mold and any overwintering insects. 

 

You can also find me over on instagram (@nature.magnified),

Flickr (Nathan Benstead Photography) and Twitter (@NathanBenstead)